


A Long-Awaited Night

by hermitknut



Category: Green Rider Series - Kristen Britain
Genre: F/M, Smut, Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 06:32:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11007936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitknut/pseuds/hermitknut
Summary: The wedding celebrations are over, and the royal couple are finally alone together.This is a nsfw scene that takes place at the end of The Lady Initiate, but you don’t have to have read that to make sense of it. Post-HKT, disregards books four and five; Karigan and Zachary are finally married.





	A Long-Awaited Night

Karigan felt as though she was floating ever so slightly above the floor as Lia helped her out of her wedding gown and into the soft silvery silk of her nightdress. It was a strange shift of clothes; she wasn’t actually changing into something she would sleep in, but rather a lovely sheath of silvery white under a bodice that laced up behind her. It was soft and cool against her skin. The pins were taken out of her hair and it was brushed out so that it would hang loose down her back. Then Lia left, with a quiet ‘goodnight, my lady’ and the hint of a grin. Karigan stood still a minute longer, processing the day that had just passed.

She was married now. She was Queen of Sacoridia. And her husband – _husband_ – was waiting for her merely a room or two away. Karigan frowned briefly, realising that she wasn’t certain of her ability to navigate the royal quarters yet; she had never ventured into these more private areas before. But when she stepped to the door and opened it, Ellen was waiting there calmly. Karigan gathered herself.

‘Could you show me where Zachary is, please?’

The Black Shield nodded silently and led the way down the corridor. Karigan supposed there were enough other Weapons at various posts throughout the royal quarters that Ellen did not feel the need to be right at Karigan’s shoulder at all times.

Zachary was, indeed, only two doors away. The door that Ellen opened for her led to a small sitting room; Zachary was sat by the hearth, his eyes on the flames, until he turned to see her. The look in his eyes was a mixture of anticipation and… a little nervousness. Karigan realised that if he was nervous, she was glad. It was much easier to be nervous in company, and while she felt relatively at peace with herself there was still a little more of the night to come.

‘Thank you, Ellen. You and the others are dismissed for the evening.’

‘Sire.’

Ellen retreated, closing the door behind her.

‘Will she go very far?’ Karigan asked, walking slowly towards Zachary and the hearth. Zachary lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug.

‘They’ll retreat to the first circle – the doors between the royal bedrooms and dressing rooms and the rest of the royal quarters. In earshot if one of us calls for help very loudly, but far enough away to allow us our privacy.’

Karigan nodded once, and stopped where she was, just beside the waiting chair. She had been going to sit down and join Zachary by the fire, but there was something about the tension between them that she did not want to break. He was looking at her, their eyes meeting, and the air seemed heavy with anticipation.

‘Shall we go through?’ he said softly. She nodded, once.

He rose from his seat and reached down to set a grate around the fire. Then he walked over to a door – different from the one she had entered through – and held it open for her.

‘My lady,’ he said softly as she passed by him, and she almost stopped breathing.

The bedroom was lit softly, by only one candle on either side of the bed, in reach for sleepers to light or snuff. She stopped at the foot of it, quietly admiring the quality of the fabrics, the black throw over the end of the bed looking soft and inviting. Then she turned.

Zachary was barefoot, she realised, and dressed in loose trousers, shirt, and a lightly tied robe over all of it. As he stepped into the dim light, she could see they were all in deep blue with touches of purple. Her family’s colours. _Her_ colours. He took another step, and suddenly they were only two feet apart. She took a breath and closed the gap, lifting her chin and pressing her lips against his.

His hands went to her waist; she reached up and boldly put one hand on the back of his neck, letting the other rest against his side. He deepened the kiss. Then he pulled back slightly and broke it, tilting his head forward to rest his forehead on hers. She realised she was breathing heavily.

‘Good?’

‘Mm. Yes.’

And then he met her mouth again in a kiss that had Karigan gasping for breath. His hands on her waist felt as though they belonged there; and then he lifted one and traced it carefully over her back. In response she leaned back a little to see him better and raised one eyebrow. His focus on her made her feel heady with confidence; had she thought she’d be shy of this? This felt _right_. She could see the silent question in his eyes as he let his hand rest on the laces of her bodice, and let her newfound boldness carry her forward. She moved her hand from his side and placed it carefully, deliberately on his chest; then she moved it across, displacing the robe from one shoulder. Zachary’s eyes widened slightly and he smiled.

They kissed again and Zachary released his grip on her as he twisted out of the robe and tossed it lightly to one side. Then his hands went back to her waist, and then around her back, questing, curious. Karigan thought for a moment. Yes, the height difference was just right; yes. She reached up and looped her arms around his neck, pulling him forward so that he was looking past her shoulder and could see down her back.

‘The laces start at the top,’ she said softly. ‘Don’t pull them all through, just apart an inch or so.’

Zachary stilled completely for a moment; and then she felt him smile against the side of her neck, and his fingers started to tug gently at the topmost laces. She was pressed against his chest, and it felt so good; she wondered if he was thinking about the feeling of her pressed against him, wondered if it was a distraction. She turned her head slightly and kissed his neck; first softly, and then harder, enjoying how she could hear his breathing become irregular, feel him swallow for focus.

‘Gods, Kari,’ he muttered quietly, and she felt no small amount of smugness.

After a minute or so – Zachary seemed to fumble more the more she kissed him, but it was too enjoyable to stop – she could feel the bodice was loose around her. It was being held up by her pressing close to Zachary. She pulled back from him a little and allowed it to slide down her body and onto the floor; then she stepped out of it and kicked it to one side.

When she looked back up at Zachary he licked dry lips, his eyes wide and dark. He set a hand on her waist, just above her hip.

‘Can I…’ he said softly. She nodded before he had finished the question, and leaned towards him for another kiss as he carefully moved his hand up her side, only the silk of the nightdress between his skin and hers, running his fingers along her ribcage before gently cupping one breast in his hand. She made a soft noise into his mouth, feeling all of her focus centre around his hand. Then he moved his thumb over her nipple and the sensation sent warmth rippling through her body. Her arms still around his neck, she pulled him closer, one hand sliding into his hair, the other gripping a shoulder. He was still touching her breast with his right hand, moving his fingers and gently pushing and gripping and releasing and rubbing; his left hand was on her waist and she felt it move up her body to take her other breast in the same way.

Karigan tipped her head back, for air as much as in response to the sensations that Zachary’s hands were creating. They stood there while she tried to catch her breath, Zachary’s hands always moving, Karigan wordless, her eyes half-closed in pleasure.

‘Over here,’ Zachary said softly, and she looked at him. He backed away slightly and she followed; gently, he manoeuvred them onto the bed, always one hand or the other or both still touching her, breasts, waist, back, pinching and caressing, leaning in to kiss her neck and her mouth and the line of her jaw. She in turn gripped him hard, her fingers digging in, and kissed back every part of him that she could reach.

They ended up sitting on the bed, each with one leg curled under themselves and one over the edge, just touching the floor. Karigan didn’t think she ever wanted him to stop touching her.

She moved her hands to his waist, and slipped them under his shirt; he saw her purpose immediately, and pulled the shirt off over his head. It ruffled his hair, and she couldn’t help but smile at him. Then she was touching him again, running her hands over his bare chest, enjoying the faint tremble in his skin as she did so, the way he looked at her like some kind of miracle. She felt much the same way.

Her nightdress was starting to feel like something of an impediment, but she wasn’t quite sure if her confidence had stretched that far yet; if she was to take it off she wanted Zachary to lose the trousers, the thought of which sent shivers up her spine, but she felt oddly hesitant about it. As though he would suddenly stop everything and call her presumptuous. She bit back an unexpected giggle, surprised that she could feel both like laughing and like kissing him all at once.

He must have seen some trace of it in her expression, because he tilted his head to one side.

‘What is it?’ he asked.

She grinned, and shook her head.

‘I’m just happy,’ she said softly. He grinned back at her, then surprised her by slipping an arm around her waist and turning her so that she was on her back on the bed. He paused, watching her expression; she smiled at him, and nodded, and then he came to lean over her, kissing her deeply as she reached up and ran her hands over his chest – and then to his hips, tugging gently but firmly at the waistband of his trousers.

She heard his slight intake of breath, and he broke the kiss to meet her eyes.

‘Sure?’ he said softly.

‘Yes.’

He shifted his weight, putting a hand down to move to a position where he could finish undressing, but managed to trap Karigan’s loose hair underneath it; it tugged hard on her skull as the mattress moved and she made a small noise of pain. Zachary looked startled, and immediately lifted his hand away, looking sheepish.

‘Sorry,’ he said. He seemed deep in thought for a moment, and Karigan realised he was looking at how her hair had spread out underneath her across the sheets.

‘I can tie it back –’

‘We could try –’

They spoke at the same time and then both stopped, awkwardly.

‘What were you going to suggest?’ Karigan asked, curious. Zachary blushed slightly, and she became more curious.

‘If you come this way, we could… well, you don’t need to worry about your hair,’ he said, fumbling slightly over the words.

Karigan pulled herself up to a sitting position and watched as Zachary moved across the bed. He sat himself against the pillows, somewhere between upright and lying down, and beckoning her over to him. She went, and, with a little encouragement, settled herself across him, her knees either side of his hips. She bent over and caught his mouth with hers again, breaking apart only briefly to murmur,

‘You were doing something with your trousers.’

‘Mm. Yes.’

She felt him shift underneath her, and she raised herself up a little to give him more room as he pushed then kicked the loose trousers off and onto the floor. Then, meeting her eyes, he placed his hands just above her knees and then pushed them up her thighs, the silk of her nightshirt lifting up with them. Carefully, tenderly, he continued over her hips and up her waist, until she couldn’t bear the slowness and pulled the nightshirt off over her own head.

She wore nothing at all underneath and saw his slight, entranced surprise. She could almost feel the heat of him underneath her as she held herself up, looking down on him, wondering how all the strange events in her life had brought her to this perfect moment.

His hands settled on her hips and then, watching her expression closely, he gently moved one hand to touch her inner thigh, higher and higher and then his hand was moving against the heat and wetness between her legs and she thought her heart might actually stop. Her eyes half-closed again, lost in sensation.

‘Kari?’

She opened them and looked at him.

‘Mm?’

‘Where is… can you show me?’

She took a moment to realise what he meant, and then blushed; it was strange how her shyness seemed to come and go at odd moments. She reached down and moved his hand against herself, through the slick wetness to press his fingers against her clit. The feeling was so good that she gasped a breath in, and barely heard him chuckle, pleased.

He continued to touch her for a minute or so, but she knew what they were building towards. Watching the concentration in his expression was too tempting.

She let herself sink down so that she could feel him, hard and hot, against her. She glanced up at him and saw that he was breathing rapidly, eyes fixed on the ceiling as though trying to take charge of himself.

‘Za,’ she said softly. He met her eyes, and nodded. He reached down; there was a small amount of adjustment to get the angle right; and then he was inside her, and the urge to move was overwhelming. His hands went to her breasts again and she pressed herself against them; his hips moving beneath her, the heat building – and then his movement increased in urgency and he came, arching his back and breathing heavily.

She felt herself coming down a little way, unfulfilled but not concerned by it, pleased to see him contented; but it was less than a minute before he took charge of himself. Gently, he supported her for them to separate, and then moved her to sitting where he had been. She settled into it, still aching slightly in the best of ways, and wondering what his intention was.

He knelt between her legs, then leaned forward to kiss her. Her lips, then the line of her jaw, then her throat, her collar bones; then his mouth was on her breast and she could feel the heat building in her again. He lingered there some time, kissing and sucking at one breast while he fondled the other with his hand. She slid one hand into his hair to grip the back of his head, holding him there; the other grasped a fistful of the sheets.

Then he moved lower.

He dotted kisses across her ribs and her belly, and then her hips and her upper thighs, shifting to be able to reach them more easily, until he was lying down. She closed her eyes, lost in the sensations, and then she felt his mouth against her wetness, his tongue on her clit, and her silence broke.

‘Oh Zachary, Za, Za – oh, _gods_ , oh _fuck_ –’

Zachary made a soft hum of approval against her and then shifted slightly; she didn’t realise his intention until two of his fingers slid inside her and began to move back and forth.

‘Oh – oh – oh – ’

Her grip, her fingers tangled in his hair to grip his head, was her anchor; she could not make herself let go of it as she came, crying out wordlessly, tipping her head back against the pillows.

After a few moments, when she had begun to relax, he reached up and gently removed her hand from his hair. Then, she watched him through the soft haze of aftermath as he carefully rearranged the bedclothes until they were both under the sheets. She seemed to have slid down to horizontal at some point and didn’t particularly care when it had been.

They curled up together. It felt natural to Karigan to sink into Zachary’s arms; he reached over and snuffed the candles on either side, and then pulled her close.

After a minute or so in the darkness, he spoke quietly.

‘Good?’

Karigan felt a slow smile curve her lips.

‘Wonderful,’ she said with considerable feeling.

‘Mm. Yes.’

Another pause.

‘Goodnight, Kari.’

‘Goodnight, Za.’


End file.
